John, it’s Jane Fonda here.

As I write this, Tropical Storm Beryl has left a devastating mark. It’s heart-wrenching to see communities along the Texas coast struggle through another catastrophic event, with high winds, heavy rains, and more than 2 million homes and businesses without power.

My thoughts are with everyone affected by this disaster. If you or your loved ones are being impacted by extreme weather, make sure to check in with local authorities and remain safe. If you’d like to pause emails from us for a while, you can do so here.

Beryl is just the latest in a series of extreme weather events that have ravaged our country and the world. Our friends in the Caribbean were also devastated by this storm, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Across the country, dangerous heat waves are affecting over 100 million people across 27 states. From New York to Nevada to Oregon, people are experiencing extremely high temperatures, putting immense pressure on our health systems and energy grids.

In the West, wildfires are raging, consuming everything in their path and displacing thousands of residents. Meanwhile, the Midwest is enduring severe thunderstorms and dangerous flooding, further highlighting the unpredictable and destructive nature of our changing climate.

These events are not isolated incidents. They are part of a larger pattern of increasingly severe weather brought on by the climate crisis. And while communities are left to pick up the pieces, fossil fuel companies continue to profit off of complete destruction. They don’t care about the havoc their actions wreak; they thrive on disaster.

Big polluters seize these moments to lobby for rebuilding efforts that rely heavily on fossil fuels. They secure subsidies for new oil and gas infrastructure and push policies that lock us into continued dependence on dirty energy and strengthen the industry. Every hurricane, wildfire, and flood is seen as an opportunity to increase their bottom line. It’s a sickening cycle that we must break.

Naomi Klein's article in The Guardian explains this "shock doctrine" — the brutal tactic of using the public’s disorientation following a collective shock to push through radical pro-corporate measures. It's a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how power profits from disaster. Click here to read more.

As we face another brutal summer with rising temperatures and increasing natural disasters, let’s remember that we’re in this together. We need to support one another, fight back against corporate greed, and demand that our government enact meaningful climate action before we reach the point of no return. Our planet and our future depend on it.

Stay safe, and know that we are fighting for a better, more sustainable world.

In solidarity,

Jane Fonda